Protective device for athletic wear



Dec. 20, 1938. Y L 2,140,716

PROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR ATHLETIC WEAR Filed May 15, 19-35 INVENTOR HARRY.PRYALE Wm M ,w wwem ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 20, 1938 PATENT OFFICEPROTECTIVE DEVICE FOR ATHLETIC WEAR Harry M. Pryale, Pontiac, Mich.

Application May 13, 1935, Serial No. 21,238

wearing apparel and refers more particularly to improvements in headgearof the type employed in connection with athletic wear for protecting thehead of the wearer.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to simplify, rendermore eilicient, and improve generally protective wearing apparel byproviding a device of relatively light weight constructed to not onlyafford maximum comfort to the wearer,

but to also possess sufficient strength to adequately protect thewearer.

The cost of manufacture of devices of the character set forth isappreciably reduced by forming l5 the-body of the device from rubber orsome suitable rubber composition molded to the desired shape, and paddedor lined with a highly resilient material possessing maximum cushioningqualities, such'as sponge rubber. The latter may be readily cemented orotherwise united to the body and is preferably of relatively greatthickness,- so as to not only effectively absorb shocks imparted to thebody, but to also permit the same to readily conform to the outline ofthe portion of the wearer with which the device is intended to be used.

Although the molded rubber body aflords sumcient strength to effectivelyresist any shocks that may be imparted thereto during normal use,

nevertheless, the strongth of the body may be greatly increased withoutappreciably increasing the weight and cost of manufacture, by providinganextra thickness of material on certain portions of the body and byembedding suitable reinforcements in the body.

A further advantageous feature of this invention resides in theprovision of a protective helmet constructed in accordance with theforegoing and possessing the further feature of being moisture orwaterproof. Y

The foregoing, as well as other objects, will be made more apparent asthis description proceeds, especially when considered in connection withthe accompanying drawing, wherein:

5 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the helmet forming the subjectmatter of this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view through the helmet shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the 5 plane indicated-by theline 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicatedby the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view show- 55 ing a slightlymodified form of construction.

It will be apparent as this description proceeds, that the presentinvention may be advantageously employed in association with protectivewearing apparel in general, but for the purpose of 11- lustrating theinvention I have selected a helmet 5 of the type employed to protect thehead of a person. The helmet-comprises a crown or body I! molded to thedesired shape from rubber or from a rubber composition and lined with ahighly resilient material ll impervious to moisture. The 10 materialalso possesses sufllcient cushioning qualities to not only effectivelyabsorb shocks imparted to the crown, butto also readily conform to thecontour of the head of the wearer. It has been found that a relativelythick padding of -15 sponge rubber is particularly suitable for theabove purpose, and this padding may be cemented, sewed, or otherwiseunited to the inner surface of the crown, In the present instance, thecushioning effect of the device at the top of so the head is furtherincreased by the provision of ribs l2 extending in directions transverseto each other and preferably formed of the same material as the paddingll. As a matter of fact, the ribs I! may be formed integral with thepadding :5 or lining II, and in addition to contributing to thecushioning effect of the lining, provides spaces I! at the top of thehead for the circulation of air through the ventilating holes ll formedin the top of the crown.

As shown in Figure 1, the crown is provided with a portion l5 designedto extend around the .back of the head of the wearer and is alsoprovided with ear protecting portions H5 at opposite sides. As shown inFigure 1, the ear protecting 35 portions l6 are formed by recessing theoposite sides of the helmet to provide pockets I! of sumcient dimensionto receive the ears and suitable openings l8 are formed in the portionsl6 opposite'the ears so that the hearing of the person 40 wearing thehelmet will not be impaired. By reference to Figure 1, it will be notedthat the helmet is also provided with a forehead protecting portion 20adapted to extend down over the forehead of the wearer so as tocompletely protect the 5 same.

Although the molded rubber crown affords suflicient strength toeffectively resist all normal shocks that may be imparted thereto,nevertheless, the strength of the crown may be increased by reinforcingthe same. The crown may be effectively reinforced by increasing thethickness of the portions of the body it is desired to strengthen and,in the present instance, the portions reinforced in this manner areclearly shown in the accompanying drawing. The aforesaid portions of thehelmet are predetermined so that the reactions of shocks imparted to thehelmet instead of beingtransmitted directly to the neck of the wearer,are substantially uniformly distributed. In this connection, attentionis also directed to the fact that the ear protecting portions ii arereinforced in the region of the openings 22 for the chin strap 23 byembedding fabric 24 in the portions l6 during the molding operat ion.If'desired, the ear protecting portions may be reinforced by embeddingcords 25 in .the rubber instead of the fabric mentioned above, and thisalternative is shown in Figure 5. Attention is called to the fact atthis point, that the foregoing method of reinforcing provides forimparting ample strength to the helmet without resorting to protrudingribs on the exterior surface of the helmet and, as a consequence, thissurface may be perfectly smooth, if desired. The elimination ofprotruding ribs on the exterior surface of the helmet adds materially tothe safety of the helmet, since in actual use any protrusions on thehelmet have the tendency to interrupt a glancing blow imparted to thehelmet and thereby materially amplify the shock. On the other hand, ifthe surface is smooth, as in the present case, the shock is actuallyminimized, since the blow merely glances off of the helmet.

Thus from the foregoing, it will be observed that I have provided ahelmet molded in one piece from a material containing rubber andcomprising a crown having flexible and reinforced portions predeterminedto absorb shocks imparted to the helmet, without transmitting thereaction of the shocks directly to the neck of the wearer,

as is the case in many helmets produced in the past. This constructionnot only aflords maximum strength, but at the same time renders itpossible to inexpensively manufacture the helmet. It will further beobserved that I have provided a crown of the type previously set forth,lined with a highly resilient material, preferably impervious tomoisture, such as sponge rubber, capable of readily conforming to thehead of the wearer and capable of effectively absorbing the shocksimparted to the crown.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. Protective wearing apparel comprising a molded shock resisting shieldof vulcanized rubber composition conforming substantially to the portionof the wearer with which the same is'in tended to be used, a highlyresilient lining of sponge rubber material permanently secured to theshield and having ribs projecting from the inner surface thereofcontributing to the resiliency of the lining and forming air spaces.

2. A protective helmet comprising, a molded exterior of vulcanizedrubber material, a highly resilient lining of sponge rubber, and ribbingof the same material as the lining extending inwardly from the innersurface of the latter.

3. A protective helmet comprising, a molded one piece crown ofvulcanized rubber material, a highly resilient lining of sponge rubberfor the crown and transverse ribbing of the same material as the llningextending inwardly from the inner surface of the lining and cooperatingto form air spaces communicating with the atmosphere through openings inthe crown.

HARRY M. PRYALE.

